Unpacking the Popularity of New Balance Sneakers in South Korea

Step off the plane at Incheon Airport, board the airport express train into downtown Seoul, and disembark at Hongdae Station (or anywhere north of south of the Han River, for that matter) and the first thing that will strike you, apart from the proliferation of third-wave cafes and PC bangs, is the conspicuous number of passers-by pounding the pavement in N-branded sneakers, more than any Swooshes or Three Stripes. Largely a self-contained phenomenon, New Balance's cultural cache in South Korea ...